From a Sok to a Shue.

The Lamma Family Walk from Sok Kwa Wan to Yung Shue Wan.

16.12.2021 - 16.12.2021

On Wednesday I had a quick walk along Tung Chung waterfront and a look at the massive Carribbean Coast which is a residential estate there. It was the first rainy day we've had for ages.

The Cable Car to the Big Buddha.

Tung Chung Ferry.

Looking towards the airport.

Fishing on the waterfront.

Boats on the waterfront.

Art on the waterfront.

It's raining bauhinias.

Caribbean Coast.

On Thursday I returned to Lamma Island again. This time I was doing the much shorter and easier walk between Sok Kwa Wan and Yung Shue Wan. I've done this walk, though the other way round, many many years ago.

Just like last time, I caught the 8.35am ferry from Central to Sok Kwa Wan. I sat on the opposite side from last time and photographed West Kowloon Cultural District and Green Island on the journey. Green Island and Little Green Island are islands off Kennedy Town. It's possible to see them well from the Sai Wan Swimming Shed. Green Island has a lighthouse on it. Little Green Island is totally uninhabited.

Busy Harbour.

West Kowloon Cultural District.

Green Island.

And its lighthouse.

This time when I got off the ferry, I turned right and walked along the main street of Sok Kwa Wan past all the fish restaurants. Sok Kwa Wan means Bringing in the Net Bay, as it was originally a fishing village. Nowadays it is popular with people looking for seafood meals. It also has an attractive Tin Hau Temple which is more than a hundred and fifty years old. Inside the temple there's the preserved body of a giant oarfish. At the temple there is a steep path up the mountain which is a fast way of getting up to Ling Kok Shan where I went last time, but I didn't do that. I went on the more gentle walk along the coast.

My Ferry.

View on Arrival.

View from the pier.

Sok Kwa Wan Sign.

Loso Kitchen. All I want is love, peace and two beers.

Loso Kitchen.

View from a Restaurant.

Village Art.

Village Christmas Tree.

Tin Hau Temple.

Temple Lion.

Inside the Tin Hau Temple.

Giant Oarfish in Tin Hau Temple.

Leaving Sok Kwa Wan I noticed there were lovely views back over the village and its bay. There was a little beach with many dogs. I was too scared to go on there, as while most village dogs in Hong Kong are placid, I have been extremely wary of dogs when they are in packs ever since being attacked by a pack of dogs just outside Mui Wo. This was many years ago and I was with Peter. The dogs did not bite us, but were very ferocious and we had to double back rather than pass them.

Just on the outside of the village are the Kamikaze Caves. During the Second World War there was a large Japanese presence on Lamma. The Japanese filled these caves with speed boats that packed full of explosives. Their plan was that if any Allied ships ventured towards Hong Kong, they would launch surprise suicide attacks on them and sink them. Fortunately, these speed boats were never used.

Sok Kwa Wan.

Flowers in Sok Kwa Wan. Bouganvillia and Chinese peony.

Looking back over Sok Kwa Wan.

Sok Kwa Wan Bay.

Kamikaze Caves.

The next place I reached was Lo So Shing Village. The older parts of the village are more than three hundred years old. Lo Sing may refer to a kind of grass or reed that grew plentifully here. The original villagers were members of the Chan family and share a common ancestor - Chan Tsz-fat. They made their living by farming. I made a slight diversion to visit Lo So Shing Beach which is pretty, though like almost everywhere on Lamma it has views towards the huge power station. Some of the houses in the village had lots of cheerful Christmas decorations.

Lo So Shing Village Sign.

Lo So Shing Village.

Christmas Decorations in Lo So Shing Village.

Papayas Lo So Shing Village.

On the way to Lo So Shing Beach.

Lo So Shing Beach Sign.

Lo So Shing Beach.

After visiting the beach, I returned to Lo So Shing Village and got back on the family walk. The walk wended its way uphill for a bit and eventually reached a pavilion with good views over Lamma and its coastline. Below the pavilion there is an abandoned cement factory belonging to the Far East Cement Company works which opened a plant near Sok Kwa Wan in 1980. This closed down in 2001. It was built on reclaimed land and had two 20,000 tonne capacity domed cement silos and a jetty.

Looking down towards the pavilion.

Sok Kwa Wan from the pavilion.

Cement works from the pavilion.

View from the pavilion.

After enjoying the views from the pavilion, I walked further and saw a sign for a second pavilion. It wasn't far, but it also was not worth visiting as there were no views from it. On the way though I did see an absolutely beautiful tiny yellow bird. It was gone before I could photograph it, unfortunately.

Second pavilion.

Continuing on the walk I came to a third pavilion with beautiful coastal views and views over Lamma's hideous powerplant. I guess the powerplant provides jobs, but it's a bit of an eyesore and lots of explosive noises come out of it disturbing the serenity of Lamma Island. Lamma Power Station, dating from 1982, is the second largest power station in Hong Kong. It is a coal and gas-fired power station which provides power to Hong Kong Island and Lamma Island. It has been expanded several times.

Pathway.

Third Pavilion.

Enjoying the view.

View from the pavilion.

Looking over the powerplant.

Beautiful fried egg plant flowers on the walk.

The walk starts to descend after this pavilion and wends its way towards Hung Shing Yeh Beach. There are beautiful views and lots of flowers along the way. This is apparently the most popular beach on Lamma Island. It has changing rooms, toilets and shark nets. It has beautiful, clean, soft sand but is unfortunately very close to the power station. There's an attractive looking hotel here called the Concerto Inn.

Coastal views on the walk.

Coastal views with a slash of colour on the walk.

Emoji Rock!!!

Bamboo grove on walk.

The Pathway.

Beautiful flowers on the walk. Apparently this is called Ivy Tree.

Beautiful frangipani flowers.

At the weekend there are stalls selling food to hikers. No-one mans them on weekdays. This one sells Lamma honey.

Hung Shing Yeh Beach.

The Concerto Inn.

Hibiscus next to the beach.

Flowers next to Hung Shing Yeh Beach.

View of power station from beach.

By this stage I was close to Yung Shue Wan, where I was heading, but I decided to take a diversion and go and visit Lamma Winds. Lamma Winds is a single large wind turbine created by HK Electric as a source of clean renewable energy. There was some attractive scenery on the walk to it and lots of huge plants and fruit trees. On the way I passed some interesting houses. One looked abandoned but was decorated with a huge multicoloured dreamcatcher, mannequins and a n enormous dragon. Next to the wind turbine there is a sign pointing to yet another pavilion. From here there are the best views of the wind turbine.

This building on the way to Lamma Winds had fresh fruit for sale. Probably picked from the fields round about it.

Papayas.

Fresh Bananas.

Huge Plants on way to Wind Farm.

Trees against the clear blue sky.

Climbing plants covered the trees.

Plants seem to grow well here. I think this is a cluster fig.

I liked this House across a little bridge.

Dragon.

Dragon and Mannequin.

Dreamcatcher.

Lamma Winds.

Windturbine.

The Pavilion.

Steps down from the pavilion.

Flowers near the pavilion.

I returned to where I had gone on my detour. The next part of my walk went through several little villages which were more or less joined together and joined on to Yung Shue Wan. There were lots of cafes, restaurants, shops, stalls selling handmade craft items. Each village had its own little sign to preserve its identity. Each village also had its own earth god shrine. Wang Long Village was once a farming and fishing village. Its inhabitants are descended from Chow Kai-man. Film star Chow Yun Fat was born here. Sha Po has an old village and a new village. The old village is of archaeological interest because a whole hard geometric pot was unearthed here by the Archaeological Society in 1970.

Village on the way to Yung Shue Wan.

Village Sign on way to Yung Shue Wan.

There were lots of craft stalls on the walk through the villages to Yung Shue Wan.

Craft Stalls.

Arts and Crafts Shop.

Sitting out area in one of the villages on the way to Yung Shue Wan.

Village Shrines.

Village Houses.

Yung Shue Wan means Banyan Tree Bay. It is the largest village on Lamma with a population of around six thousand. Many are Chinese and many are expat. It's known for seafood restaurants, cafes, bars, Western, Chinese and other Asian food, art and craft stalls. It's a relaxed place. Yung Shue Wan has an interesting Tin Hau Temple guarded by western rather than Chinese lions. The temple is around one hundred years old.

Shop on Yung Shue Wan Main Street.

Village Street.

Yung Shue Wan Street.

Holiday Resort.

Houses in Yung Shue Wan.

Yung Shue Wan Tin Hau Temple.

Inside the Tin Hau Temple.

Burners in the temple.

Western lion guarding the temple.

Yung Shue Wan Waterfront.

Powerplant from Yung Shue Wan Waterfront.

Tanks in seafood restaurants on the waterfront.

After a good look around the village I headed to the ferry pier. Ferries are much more frequent from here than from Sok Kwu Wan. I jumped on a ferry and headed home.

Ferry Terminal and Pier.